BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) - Shorthand reporters: continuing
education requirements
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|Version: March 23, 2015 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 7 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: June 22, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 804 would require the Court Reporters Board of
California (Board) to adopt regulations establishing minimum
continuing education requirements as a condition for renewal of
a court reporters certificate, and to establish a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education courses.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time staff costs of $51,000 in 2016-17 and $43,000 in
2017-18 for the Board to develop and adopt regulations to
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 1 of
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establish continuing education requirements and establish a
process for approving providers of continuing education.
(Court Reporters Fund).
Ongoing staff costs of $21,000 in 2017-18 and $34,000 annually
thereafter to process continuing education documentation from
licensees. (Court Reporters Fund)
Negligible revenue increase to the extent the Board
established the maximum fee of $40 to approve continuing
education providers. The Board has only identified eight
potential providers currently offering courses or seminars
that would address the bill's continuing education
requirements.
Background: Existing law provides for the certification and regulation of
shorthand reporters and the regulation of shorthand reporting
corporations by the Board. There are currently approximately
7,000 certified persons who have met the basic minimum standards
of practice to provide the public with competent and impartial
verbatim reporting of depositions and oral court and judicial
proceedings. The Board also specifies curriculum for court
reporting schools, receives and investigates complaints,
disciplines court reporters and schools, and administers a fund
that provides free transcripts to indigent civil litigants.
Existing law authorizes the Board to charge a fee of $40 for
filing an application for each examination for a certified
shorthand reporter certificate (commonly known as court
reporters certificate), an initial license fee of $125, and an
annual renewal fee of $125. The fees are currently established
at the statutory maximum. In order to obtain a license, court
reporters must attend a Board-approved court reporting school
and pass two written exams and a performance exam.
Court reporters who are employees of the court system (known as
"official" court reporters), are required by the Administrative
Office of the Courts to take at least eight hours of continuing
education every two years as a condition of employment.
"Freelance" court reporters, individuals hired by court
reporting businesses, firms, or attorneys to report depositions,
do not have a continuing education requirement.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 2 of
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Proposed Law:
AB 804 would require the Board to adopt regulations to
establish minimum continuing education requirements for renewal
of a certified shorthand reporter certificate by July 1, 2016,
and require a certificate holder to submit proof of completion
of continuing education as a condition of certificate renewal no
sooner than six months after the adoption of the regulations.
The bill would authorize the Board to establish exceptions to
the continuing education requirements for a certificate holder
who cannot meet the requirements for reasons of health, military
service, or undue hardship.
The bill also requires the Board to establish a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education courses, and
authorizes the Board to establish a fee of up to $40 on
providers of continuing education courses.
Related
Legislation: SB 671 (Price, 2011) was substantially similar to
this bill and would have required the Board to adopt regulations
to establish continuing education requirements as a condition
for certificate renewal and to establish a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education. SB 671 was vetoed
by Governor Brown with the following statement:
This bill would make license renewal for court reporters
contingent on continuing education. The whole idea of
legally mandated "continuing education" is suspect in my
mind. Professionals already are motivated to hone their
skills - or risk not getting business. Requiring them to
pay fees to "continuing education providers" is an
unwarranted burden.
AB 2189 (Karnette, 2008) was also substantially similar to this
bill and was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who noted that
the proposed continuing education requirements impose additional
burdens on a regulated profession without a compelling need.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 3 of
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Staff
Comments: Staff notes that the Court Reporters Fund currently
has a structural deficit. According to the Fund Condition
Statement in the Governor's Budget, the fund balance has
declined from $1.1 million at the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year
to $776,000 at the end of the current fiscal year, and the fund
is projected to have a reserve of only $368,000 at the end of
the 2015-16 fiscal year. Licensing and regulatory fees generate
approximately $935,000 annually, and state operations
expenditures are approximately $1 million annually. In
addition, there are annual transfers of $300,000 to the
Transcript Reimbursement Fund that is used to provide free
transcripts to indigent civil litigants. All licensing fees are
currently at the statutory maximums. At the current pace, the
fund will have a negative balance in 2017-18. The Board is up
for sunset review hearings in the coming year, at which time the
structural funding deficit will be discussed in detail. Staff
notes that the costs related to this bill, although minor, would
exacerbate the structural deficit in the Court Reporters Fund.
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